President Scholz sent the following message to students, faculty, and staff on Monday, September 30, 2024.
Dear University of Oregon community,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome everyone back and wish you all a wonderful start to the fall term and the 2024–25 academic year. And what a year it promises to be. Across multiple sports, our beloved Ducks are off to a strong start in our new Big Ten Conference. We are on the cusp of implementing a new vision and strategic plan for the UO—Oregon Rising. One which will set us on a course to accelerate our impact on society and to more effectively serve our mission to our students, the state, and the nation.
Today I am in Portland to celebrate the expansion of our Portland campus and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health and its first class of students. Portland programs have been carrying the excellence of UO academics and research into the region in meaningful ways for many, many years. It’s a true transformation in an incredibly short amount of time.
Nothing brings quite as much joy as welcoming our incoming students. In the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of welcoming the incoming Class of 2028 at Convocation. My wife, Melissa, and I participated in Unpack the Quack, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet with excited students, parents, and families as they start their journeys here at the University of Oregon. No matter how many times I experience the start of a new academic year, it still reminds me what rare and special places universities are and the unique and resilient communities they create.
I’d like to offer a few words as we get underway.
To our incoming students and to those returning to campus: We are delighted you are here as part of our community of curiosity-driven scholars. You belong here, and you can flourish. I hope you will take advantage of all this great institution offers, inside and outside the classroom. Take care of yourself and others, and reach out to staff, friends, or faculty if you have questions or need support.
To all staff: I am inspired by your dedication and professionalism. People who work in higher education are a special breed, and your work here has real impact on our city, region, state, and world. Together, we are part of a deeply mission-driven enterprise.
To our faculty: your lifetime of inquiry and your commitment to excellence are the foundation of our students’ growth and success. You are central to the fulfillment of our academic mission. I deeply appreciate the many ways you help make the University of Oregon remarkable.
As we begin the school year, I recognize universities are places that bring together people with diverse ideas, perspectives, and lived experiences. This enriches us all. In fact, the UO has a long and proud history of engaging with the issues of the day and supporting members of our community in exercising their right to free expression. At the same time, we take seriously the responsibility of providing education in an environment free from harassment, threat, or bias.
To be a flourishing community and a successful university, we must engage constructively with disagreement. We will vigorously debate ideas—even those we think are misguided—with logic. But we will not censor ideas. Instead, we have created additional programs to ensure our students, faculty, and staff know our policies; we’ve provided additional training and coursework to expand knowledge and mitigate biases; and we’ve created additional resources to support our whole community.
A flourishing campus requires that we engage thoughtfully and care deeply. As we welcome our newest Ducks to campus and begin another academic year together, let us extend empathy, respect, and care for one another. I wish you a fantastic fall term and look forward to what the year brings us.
Go Ducks!
Karl Scholz
President